1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to color inkjet recording apparatuses and copiers, and more particularly to a color inkjet recording apparatus and copier including a multi-nozzle inkjet recording head having a plurality of ink ejection openings formed thereon to cover the entire width of a recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Inkjet recording apparatuses performing recording by jetting out ink onto the recording surface of a recording medium and having the ink adhere thereto are widely used. Generally, the inkjet recording apparatuses include a recording head having a face on which are formed openings for jetting out or ejecting ink onto the recording surface of the recording medium (such openings are hereinafter referred to as ink ejection openings and such a face is hereinafter referred to as ink ejection face).
The recording head jets out ink droplets onto the recording surface of the recording medium through the ink ejection face, the ink droplets being formed, for instance, by the pressure of electromechanical transducers or the heating energy of electro-thermal transducers controlled based on a drive control signal supplied in accordance with image data. In some recording heads, for instance, the ink ejection openings, totaling up to tens to hundreds in number in some cases, are arranged on the ink ejection face with relatively high densities of 400 to 600 dpi for high-quality and high-speed recording. In recent years, studies have been made on a so-called multi-nozzle elongated recording head, in which the ink ejection openings are formed to cover all the recording region of the recording medium, for instance, the entire width thereof, for the purpose of gaining higher recording speed.
Such an elongated recording head has thousands to tens of thousands of ink ejection openings (nozzles and orifices), and consumes substantially more ink than the conventional recording head with tens to hundreds of ink ejection openings. The development of the elongated recording head using a large amount of ink has just started. Therefore, ink supply means for the elongated recording head, for instance, includes points that have yet to be studied and made clear, so that the elongated recording head is not yet established as an inkjet recording technology. Particularly, the safety problem of the entire apparatus using the elongated recording head in the case of the occurrence of an unexpected accident should be solved in the future. Since the elongated recording head uses a large amount of ink, the inkjet recording apparatus using the elongated recording head may have damage or failure due to ink leakage.